Applying different sanitizers as alternatives to paraformaldehyde on incubating hatching eggs

The hatching process is a critical stage in poultry production, directly influencing chick viability, early growth, and overall flock performance. Proper control of incubation and hatching conditions ensures uniform, healthy chicks and maximizes hatchability and production efficiency. The current study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of different sanitizers as alternatives to paraformaldehyde in the disinfection of hatching eggs, with a focus on microbial reduction, hatchability, and chick quality. The experiment was conducted in Commercial Hatchery using 3465 white Ross 308 breeder eggs. Seven different disinfectants were applied: Non-sanitized, Distilled Water, NaCl, Vinegar, Vercon, Formaxilin, and Formaldehyde. Eggs were sanitized on the 1st and 10th days of incubation, and microbial counts, hatchability, egg weight loss, and chick quality were assessed. The results indicated that all disinfectants significantly reduced microbial contamination compared to the control non-sanitised, distilled water and NaCl achieving lowest bacterial counts. However, no significant differences were observed in hatchability across the treatments, with hatchability rates ranging from 78.98% to 83.83%. Vinegar treatment showed the highest hatchability of fertile eggs (94.33%), and also produced the longest chicks (8.83 cm), while no significant (P>0.05) differences were observed in chick weight or abnormal chick percentage among treatments. The findings investigated that disinfectants such as Vinegar and NaCl, are effective alternatives to paraformaldehyde, to reduced microbial contamination without compromising hatching performance or chick quality.